Chapter 261 - 260: Help from My Sister

Chapter 261: Chapter 260: Help from My Sister

’Never mind, never mind. My check didn’t disappear. It just turned into materials that are still with me, just like when I used to play those pay-to-win mobile games...’

Lloyd tried to comfort himself with this thought, but something still felt... off.

When you played pay-to-win games, you exchanged money for cute anime wives who would accompany you. But burning cash on materials? Once they were used up, they were gone. You couldn’t call that companionship at all.

He had to change his perspective and find another way to console himself.

’It’s just that my talent is too great, and I’m too hardworking and diligent. That’s why I level up so much faster than others. They have years to save up money, but I’ve only had a single month. Of course the pressure is immense.’

’Fortunately, the materials I bought this time are all high-quality. They’re worthy of my talent and hard work. As a refined young man who loves life, spending a little money to improve my quality of life is perfectly in character!’

After letting his thoughts run wild for a bit, Lloyd felt a little better. He then remembered something else and made a trip back to the club, heading to the basement he was renting.

He walked straight into the lounge, admired the painter’s final work for a moment, then flopped onto the recliner, wanting to see if any more Forbidden Knowledge would be drawn to it.

But after lying there for a good while, nothing happened...

’Looks like this Beacon is still too weak. It really is just a "candle flame," extinguished after just a couple of "moths" flew into it.’

Lloyd assessed the situation and realized the painting was now ineffective. From now on, it would simply be a final memento from an acquaintance he’d met by chance.

He left the club and headed to the commercial street on the other side. Since he had already spent so much money today, he might as well go on another big shopping spree.

It was similar to the ’since I’m already spending money on gacha pulls, might as well buy the first-time purchase bonus too, right?’ mentality.

Lloyd browsed for a while, buying some ingredients for dinner, new kitchen utensils, and a radio, spending quite a bit more money.

He chose high-quality cookware—sturdy and durable. Only such high-end utensils could bear the weight of his culinary skills.

The ordinary set he bought last month was already worn to shreds from his... activities.

The radio was for listening to the news. Lloyd had now essentially completed all the preparations for his third Transcendence. His knowledge reserves were sufficient, he had the materials, and the only thing missing was a Bizarre Derivative.

So he had to grit his teeth and spend a hefty sum on a radio. In this day and age, it was still considered a "high-end home appliance," the kind of thing that was once a major status symbol, making it unavoidably expensive.

Of course, compared to the materials for the Veto system, the cost of these daily necessities was just pocket change...

For the final leg of his shopping spree, Lloyd visited every newsstand near his home, collecting nearly every newspaper published in Radiant City. He planned to search them for news about Bizarre Derivatives.

When he got home, he began to flip through them. He continued until it was about time for dinner, then walked into the kitchen and created a racket like a machine factory before showcasing his latest understanding of the culinary arts—

Tomato-Flavored Fish Aria, Barbecue-Style Red Wine Braised Riblets, and Black Pepper Bean Sprouts with Green Peppers.

’Speaking of which, I haven’t cooked for my sister in a few days. She must be missing my cooking, right?’

......

Evelor furrowed her brows slightly, a cute expression of both childlike innocence and solemnity on her face. As if facing one of life’s great trials, she steeled herself and finished the dinner her little brother had personally made.

Then, she quickly took out a few pages of documents and handed them to Lloyd.

"Yi, I don’t know if these will help you?"

Lloyd took them and glanced over them. They were full of the "ghost stories" he was looking for, all summarized and condensed. The time, place, people, and events were stated concisely, much clearer than if Lloyd had tried to find them one by one.

"Wow! This is exactly what I need! Thank you so much."

Lloyd was suddenly overjoyed. He gave Evelor a tight hug and continued,

"It must have been a lot of work to compile all this, right? If I’d known, I would have made a few more dishes tonight."

Evelor quickly waved her hands, an awkward smile on her face, and explained,

"Eh? Don’t... don’t say that. As long as it helps you, Yi, that’s all that matters. Besides, I didn’t compile these all by myself. I had a lot of help from the new editor-in-chief."

"Okay, well, please thank him for me too."

Lloyd added, then began to seriously read through these "one-sentence ghost stories."

Evelor then brought up another matter.

"By the way, Ms. Landis came by the editorial department for a security check today. She happened to find out that you’re looking for Vengeful Spirits, Yi, and she said..."

Evelor paused, then switched to a stuffy, old-fashioned tone to repeat Ms. Landis’s opinion:

"Ahem, completing Transcendence through such a path is not a wise choice. You had best persuade your little brother not to take shortcuts...

"After all, for an Extraordinary Being, every Transcendence is crucial. This is especially true for those of us in the Veto system; we need to build a solid foundation."

It had to be said, Evelor’s imitation of that tone and cadence was surprisingly lifelike. Paired with her petite and childlike appearance, didn’t it have a peculiar kind of charm?

As Butler Randolph’s successor, Ms. Landis was Miss Desda’s new security Advisor. She also handled security for the editorial department on the side.

She was also a High-ranking Powerhouse of the Veto system, so as soon as she heard Evelor was helping her brother collect this information, she immediately knew what Lloyd was planning.

Lloyd, of course, knew her advice was well-founded. It was just a shame that he also had to manage his promotion on the Twist side of things. He really had no other choice.

"Mm, I understand. Please thank Ms. Landis for me. Her advice is very pertinent, but I have my own considerations."

Lloyd explained to his sister.

Evelor nodded, smiling gently as she replied,

"Mm, I know. You’ve always had your own opinions and ideas since you were little, Yi. Your big sister believes in you. After all, you’ve never let me down."

Lloyd felt a warmth spread through his heart. He was deeply moved and couldn’t help but hug Evelor again.

’Perhaps this is what it means to have a sister like her. She worries about me, but she also trusts and supports me unconditionally, forever.’

’It’s so great to have a sister like this!’

So as not to let his sister’s trust be in vain, Lloyd returned to his study. He first went through the information she had collected, using a pen to cross out the ones that were obviously fake or too far away, performing a preliminary screening.

Next, he took out a box of matches and the antique pocket watch, and began to perform a Discrimination Divination, repeating under his breath:

"Is this description true? Is this description true? Is this description true?"

Two hours later, Lloyd put down the pocket watch and the matchbox, looking at the two records remaining on the document pages.

With his level 5 Divination skill, the accuracy of such a simple, basic Discrimination Divination was naturally quite high. There would be almost no deviation, so the two remaining records should both be true.

The location of the first was in the New City District to the west, specifically in the Three Non-Management Areas’ shantytown that Lloyd had visited once before.

A Vengeful Spirit, suspected to be female, had apparently appeared there. There had been multiple sightings. It would emerge and wander around during the darkest period before dawn.

However, it didn’t seem to actively attack humans, and was apparently looking for something.

Yet, several people had still been killed, one after another. The cause and exact number of victims were unknown.

This Vengeful Spirit had been appearing for some time now, but because that Three Non-Management Area had become an isolated island within the city, no one had dealt with the matter. So it was still there.

The location in the second record was a remote village to the north. It said there was a father who had lost his daughter and would talk to her every night, scaring the wits out of his neighbors and causing a huge commotion.

This should have just been the "self-entertainment" of a mentally ill person, but unfortunately, this father was far too proactive—

Every night, he would go to the town cemetery alone, dig up his daughter’s grave with a hoe, and then fill it back in before dawn.

A Tomb Guardian once stopped him with a shotgun, causing the father to leave, grumbling resentfully.

But two days later, that Tomb Guardian mysteriously disappeared, never to be seen again.

Then, a righteous young man with a pitchfork stopped him, telling the father in front of many people that his daughter was dead, trying to get him to give up his delusions and stop this creepy business.

But two days later, that righteous young man also mysteriously disappeared...

The town residents suspected the father had done something sinister and quickly reported it to the police. However, according to the police investigation, the father had a solid alibi, so the case was eventually dropped.

Perhaps because the place was too remote, and the police didn’t report the case, the father continued to dig up his daughter’s grave every night, leaving the entire town in a state of terror.

Those were the two records, more or less, both authenticated as true.

But whether it was the "unclean thing" Lloyd was looking for causing trouble, or some other type of abnormal event, was currently unknown. It was also possible that another Demon was behind it.

Lloyd had originally wanted to perform further Divination, but after thinking it over, he put down his pocket watch.

The requirement for the third Transcendence was to resolve the Demon entirely with a Veto Declaration, without relying on any external forces or help. Therefore, he was worried that using Divination too much might leave some residual influence, which could compromise the completion of the Transcendence ritual.

"Which one should I choose? Which one should I choose?"

Lloyd muttered to himself twice, then finally clenched his fist.

As a mature young man who had entered society, the natural choice was... to take both!